Fountain brush



Oct. 2, 1945. M. A. KOLLMEYER IFOUNTAIN BRUSH Filed Feb. 4. 1943 II "III! INVENTOR. oar/021 A EmR/YEK Patente d Oct. 2, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN BRUSH Margaret Agnes Kollmeyer, Milwaukee, Wis. Application February 4, 1943, Serial No. 474,738

3 Claims.

My invention relates to fountain brushes and more particularly to a bristle brush that has the advantage of live steam exhausting through discharge apertures positioned within the brush between the tufts of bristles.

The object of my invention is to provide a brush that may be easily removed from the assembly .to enable its being cleaned and scalded.

Another object of my invention is to provide a brush that may be replaced by removing it from the body or enclosure, thereby permitting the use of either a coarse or a soft bristle depending on the purpose for which it is to be used.

Still another object of my invention is .to incorporate a liquid container within the shell assembly and an electrical means for heating the liquid contents of the container so as to enable the liquid to be exhausted in the form of steam through discharge apertures positioned between the tufts of bristles on the brush.

A furtl er object of m invention is to construct a device of the character described that may be easily filled and will not spill or splash while. in use.

When the device is used for brushing cloth or the. like, clear water may be used While when used for massaging the scalp or brushing the hair, a medicinal formula may be placed into the liquid container to be evaporated into steam and discharged through the apertures in the removable brush unit.

Other and further objects and uses of my invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the assembled device showing the filler cap, the outer housing construction and the lead to the source of electrical energy for heating a resistance coil,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the device illustrating in cross-section the various elements constituting the assembly,

Figure 3 is a plan view in cross-section taken at the line 3-3 in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the face of the removable brush unit showing the discharged apertures positioned between tufts of bristles.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views and referring now to the same the character shOWs a body in the form of an annular shell provided with a port ll through its upper wall structure and a threaded portion 12 around the periphery of the outer wall. There is a retainer ring I 3 provided with an inner thread disposed for engagement with the threaded portion [2 of the shell ID and arranged with an inwardly extending flange M to retain a removable brush member 5 in position against the lower face of the wall in the shell I!) as shown.

The brush member I5 has the usual conventional tufts of bristles shown as l6 imbedded therein and is provided with a plurality of discharge apertures ll positioned between the arrangement of'tufts it.

The retainer ring i3 is employed to hold the brush member 15 in position against the lower edge of the wall of the shell [0 by virtue of its engagement with the shell I 0 at its threaded portion l2. However, when'the brush and shell are constructed in any other shape than annular, for example, elliptical instead of round as shown, the retainer ring I3 may be clamped or wedged onto the shell 10 by means of resilient clamps or any other convenient manner.

Within the shell m, which obviously may be constructed of any plastic, hard rubber, or nonmetallic and non-conducting material, is a receptacle or container l8 closed at its bottom and sides but having a filler spout l9 through its upper wall. The receptacle [8 is employed to retain the liquid shown as 20 and a plurality of tubular members 2| extend through the bottom of the receptacle [8 and contact the inner face of its upper wall. These tubular members 2! are provided with small communicating apertures 22 near their top and with funnel-shaped discharge guides 23 at their extreme bottom. This arrangement prevents the liquid from splashing or spilling through the tubular members 2i and if desired the entire space within the receptacle !8 around the tubes 2i may be packed with steel wool or the like as an additional prevention against splashing. The filler spout I9 is provided with a cap 24 which is shown threadedly engaging the filler spout l9.

Surrounding the periphery of the receptacle I 8 is an electrically actuated resistance coil 25 arranged in a manner to heat the liquid 20 within the receptacle Hi. This coil 25 is encased within a container 21 and is insulated from the inner wall of the container 21 by means of the insulator 26 and the ends of the coil 25 terminate into a lead wire 28 extending through the shell in at 29 and shown provided with a contact plug 30.

It is manifest to anyone familiar with the art that a device of the character described lends itself readily to the purpose for which it is intended and may be constructed strong and durable at a minimum cost and in any desirable shape or contour.

In operation the liquid is filled into the receptacle through the spout and when the contact plug is inserted to an electrical receptacle, the electrical energy will cause the resistance coil to heatcup which in turn will tend to heat the liquid within the receptacle. As this liquid becomes warm enough it turns to steam which exhausts through'the communicating ports near the top of the tubular members and passes direct through the tubular members where it discharges through the guides and distributed over the inner surface of the brush unit and from there through the discharged ports which are positioned between tufts of bristles. In this manner the live steam will reachthe surface through which the bristles are applied.

As previously stated, when the brush unit is used on fabric or cloth, clear water may constitute the liquid within the container, or again clear Water may be used if the brush is employed for brushing hair, for in this manner clear steam will be caused to pass between the strands of hair as they are being brushed by the bristles. However, a medicinal preparation may be placed into the receptacle or may be dissolved with clear water in the receptacle, and when this liquid turns to steam, the medicinal steam will reach the open pores of the scalp which is being massaged by the end of the bristles and in this way medically treatthe scalp during the massaging operation.

' While I have shown and described in detail a particular construction, it is obvious that many changes and configurations may be incorporated into the structure and I reserve the right herein to make such changes as might be deemed advantageous without departing from the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the United States is:

said liquid, said means leading to a discharge above the apertures in said brush unit, electrically energized heating means surrounding said 1. A device of the character described eomprising in combination a body open at its lower side, said body provided with a port through its upper wall, a threaded portion forming a part of the periphery of said body, a removable brush unit, a retainer ring threadedly engaging the periphery of said body, said retainer ring disposed for receptacle for raising the temperature of the liquid in said receptacle and means for connecting said heating means to electric energy.

2. A device as described in claim 1 in which the communicating means are in the form of vertical tubular members leading from the inside upper portion of said receptacle through its bottom, and having communicating apertures through the Walls of said tubular members at the upper end thereof.

3. A device of the character described comprising in combination, a body, a brush unit, aretainer ring for supporting said brush unit in said body, means on the periphery of said body for attachment of said retainer ring to said body, said brush unit being provided with tufts of bristles, discharge apertures being formed through the body of said brush unit between said tufts of bristles, a separate receptacle for liquid mounted within said body, a filler spout provided With a cap leading from said receptacle to the outside of said body, vertical tubular discharge members leading through the bottom of said receptacle to its upper inner surface, said tubular discharge means being provided with communicating apertures near their top, electrically energized heating means disposed within said body around the outer wall of said receptacle for heating the liquid in said receptacle, contact means for connecting said heating means to a source of electrical energy, and said tubular discharge members being provided with funnel-shaped discharge guides at their lower ends for distributing the steam through said vertical discharge members against the inner face of the brush unit to permit discharge of the steam through the apertures in said brush unit.

MARGARET AGNES KOLLMEYER. 

